04 Jul 2017

The National Development Bank (NDB) remains committed to giving financial support to both startups and business expansions with viable proposals, says chief executive officer, Ms Lorato Morapedi.

Speaking at a customer appreciation forum in Francistown recently, Ms Morapedi said challenges in the area such as the closure of some mines and Foot and Mouth Disease needed a strategy to overcome.

She also noted that NDB’s investment in the area grew from P96 million to P365 million in the last 10 years.

She revealed that 74 per cent of the investment was in agriculture, 17 per cent in property, five per cent in commerce and the remaining in others. 

She said the investments have gone a long way in contributing to the economic growth of the Francistown region as well as employment creation.

“We believe a lot can still be done given the opportunities still available within the area if we continue with our partnership,” she said.

She said her bank continued to remain a key partner in the development of arable farming through its strategic partnership with Pandamatenga farmers.

Ms Morapedi said the bank was also aware of the challenges in the sector and would continue to engage with key stakeholders to come up with strategies and tactics to mitigate the challenges.

She said some of the strategies included the re-opening of the Francistown BMC abattoir and the review of the credit guarantee scheme. 

She said the banking industry was also going through a challenging phase characterised by unfavourable market and economic conditions, declining interest rates, a depressed property market and slow economic recovery.

She said as a result the NDB was focusing on supporting the ailing funded projects and scaling down on investing on new business ventures.

She added that where no amount of rehabilitation could assist, the bank was left with no option but to foreclose.

Ms Morapedi said her bank focused on collecting from non-performing loans, adding that it could have negatively affected some customers.

“We, however, appreciate your understanding and loyalty during this period as this is a clear sign that we both appreciate the importance of long-term sustainable relationships, and having a clean bank with low non-performing loans particularly as we are preparing for privatisation,” she said.

She said from 2013/14 to date the bank booked some losses, but assured clients that the ban had been sustainable despite the financial loss.

Ms Morapedi said customer service remains the focus area of her bank, and that they had implemented some initiatives over the years to ensure that customer’s needs and expectations were met.

She said the bank has rebranded and refreshed its brand promise, trained its staff in customer service and provided customer statements on a half yearly basis.

“Regular customer feedback dipsticks through call backs, where we have seen your satisfaction rating Francistown branch moving from 72.5 per cent to 89 per cent in the last two years,” she said.

In her welcome remarks, the bank’s head of customer services, Ms Sethunya Gaolebogwe said the bank dedicated the day to appreciate the loyalty and support that customers provided.

Ms Gaolebogwe said NDB puts customers at the centre of everything and that would spend time with them to reflect and interact in a relaxed environment that would assist feedback to be used on improving service delivery.

She said NDB remains committed to offering products and services that would empower Batswana.

Francistown deputy mayor, councillor Godisang Radisigo lamented that some policies were outdated and prevented the bank from them business. ENDS